South Korea amended the Korea Racing Authority Act through Act No. 19492 of June 20, 2023, adding Article 6-2, which permits the Korea Racing Authority to sell betting tickets in electronic form through information and communications networks at places other than racecourses and off-course betting centers1. The same amendment added Articles 6-3 through 6-7, covering corrective orders, registration, sound operation plans, addiction prevention and measures against illegal use1.
Under Article 6-2, the Authority must formulate an annual operation plan for electronic betting ticket sales and implement it with approval from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, with the same approval required for changes to important matters1. The plan must cover operation of the selling system, user verification at each stage, user protection including measures against addiction and excessive immersion, personal information management, and a plan for sound operation under Article 6-51. Article 6-3 lets the Minister order corrective measures if the Authority fails to implement the plan, and if it does not comply without good cause, the Minister may reduce the number of tickets sold or suspend sales; resuming suspended sales requires approval1.
Article 6-4 requires anyone who wants to buy an electronic betting ticket to register their name, device and account with the Authority1. People under 21, supervisory agency public officials handling the Authority's affairs, Authority executives and employees, trainers, jockeys and grooms, people engaged in holding horse racing, and anyone whose registration was revoked within the past year are not eligible1. Registration can be revoked for fraudulent registration, lending a registered device to another person to buy a ticket, borrowing another person's registered device, or acts prescribed by ministerial decree that substantially harm sound operation1. Article 6-6 lists preventive measures including real name, age and identity verification, warnings, displaying elapsed time of use on screen, and user protection education1.
The Act states that the Act on Special Cases concerning Regulation and Punishment of Speculative Acts does not apply to the sale of betting tickets1. It also states that horse racing shall be held by the Authority1. The Act lists eight betting methods: win, quinella, exacta, place, quinella place, tierce, trifecta and special betting1. Claims on payoffs are extinguished by prescription if not exercised within one year1. The Act says the sales proceeds shall not exceed 20/100 of the sales amount1. A transitional provision states that pursuant to the amended provisions of Article 2 subparagraph 6, Articles 6(1), 6-2, 6-4 through 6-7, and 49, the Authority may conduct a pilot operation of the electronic betting ticket selling system before the Act enters into force, and that the Act enters into force on the date of its promulgation1.
What it means for players
Online horse race betting in South Korea is now handled by the Korea Racing Authority itself, not by private operators, and only through a registered account. Registration requires a name, device and account, and is closed to anyone under 21 and to a list of people connected to racing or to the Authority, including trainers, jockeys and grooms1. Buying a ticket on someone else's registered device, or lending your own, is grounds for revoking registration1. The Act requires identity and age checks and on-screen warnings, and the Authority must run addiction and excessive immersion prevention measures1. Payoff claims lapse after one year1. The Act does not set out the unit betting amount, sale methods or registration procedures in detail; those are left to Presidential Decree and ministerial decree, which have not been reported here1.
What happens next
The Act enters into force on the date of its promulgation1. The Authority must prepare an annual electronic betting ticket operation plan and obtain approval from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs before selling, and must obtain approval again to change important matters or to resume sales suspended by the Minister1. A pilot operation of the electronic betting ticket selling system was permitted before entry into force1. No launch date, betting limits or fee schedule for the online system has been reported.
Sources1 sources
- Statutes of the Republic of Korea, elaw.klri.re.kr
